Former Christendom College athletic director Tom Vander Woude gave his life to save his son, Josie, in 2008 — an act that has continued to inspire people across the globe.
Now, his cause for sainthood is being investigated, bringing his incredible story of love, of sacrifice and of “doing the right thing” back to the forefront. His story appears in the latest issue of Instaurare, the college’s magazine.
As the 11:30 a.m. Mass let out at Christ the King Chapel in September 2008, news quickly spread across the school’s campus: Coach Tom Vander Woude had died. In one final, selfless act, the man who had spent his life lifting others up — both on the basketball court and off — had given his life to save his son.
Nearly two decades after his death, the memory of the college’s former athletic director still echoes in the Christendom gym where he once spent so much of his time — in the way players huddle for prayer before games, in the sign above the entrance and in the quiet reverence of those who knew him.
Now, Arlington diocese has begun considering whether to open Vander Woude’s cause for canonization — the first step toward formally recognizing what his family and community have long believed: that Tom Vander Woude lived, and died, with saintlike virtue.
Vander Woude’s friends and family all describe him the same way: a humble, gentle, joyful and hardworking man whose life offered a consistent example of sacrificial love —not only to his family, but to all who encountered him through his coaching and professional work.
“He was a tremendous leader and guardian of our family,” said Chris Vander Woude, the fifth of Tom’s seven sons.
“He did this first and foremost by leading the family towards Christ through frequent reception of the sacraments, generously giving of himself for his family, and exercising tremendous virtue day in and day out, especially in the quiet, hidden areas like temperance and courage. In many ways, he was a tremendous example of what true Catholic manhood should be, dedicated to always giving of himself, especially when it came to leading his family towards Christ and protecting and helping those that needed help.”
A Vietnam War veteran, Vander Woude began coaching out of love for his sons. When asked to lead his son’s soccer team at Seton School in Manassas, he accepted the challenge — even though he knew nothing about the sport.
In addition to coaching soccer, he also volunteered to lead Seton’s basketball program, all while managing a demanding career as a commercial airline pilot and maintaining a small farm. He and his wife raised a large and active family, with five of their sons eventually attending Christendom College.
After retiring from US Airways in 2002, Vander Woude followed in his sons’ footsteps, continuing his lifelong dedication to youth and athletics by becoming Christendom’s athletic director.
As a coach and mentor at Christendom, Vander Woude touched countless lives, especially the student-athletes he worked with daily. He often repeated a simple phrase that resonated deeply with students: “just do the right thing.”
His gentle demeanor — always ready to listen and lend a hand — helped countless young people grow into men and women of virtue, guided by both his example and wise counsel.
“As a coach, he showed to all that interacted with him how ‘sports properly directed’ can and should be developed and fostered with character based on the virtues. I think dad was, for many young men especially, the most influential man in their life besides their own fathers,” said Chris.
That steadfast desire to help those who in greatest need would reach its fullest expression on a fateful morning in September 2008.
When his youngest son, Joseph (Josie), who has Down syndrome, fell into a septic tank on the family farm Sept. 8, 2008, Vander Woude did not hesitate. He plunged in to save his son, lifting Josie above the surface while his own lungs filled with toxic gases. Turning to a nearby farmhand, he called out, “You pull, I’ll push.”
By the time rescuers pulled them from the almost seven-foot-deep tank, Josie was still alive. Vander Woude, however, was dead at the age of 66, leaving behind his wife, seven sons and a legacy of heroic virtue that continues inspire and uplift others.
It is that legacy of heroic virtue that inspired a group of Catholics to work with the diocese on opening his cause for sainthood.
The recently founded Tom Vander Woude Guild is actively sharing his story nationwide. His son, Chris, has taken two years off work to share his father’s story, speaking in cities across the nation to spread the powerful and hopeful story of his father and in turn to assist in laying the foundation for Vander Woude’s possible cause.
Their efforts helped prompt the diocese to take several initial steps toward opening his cause, including naming a postulator and vice postulator to investigate and promote it. In the Catholic Church, three things can put a person on the path to sainthood: martyrdom, heroic virtue, and, following a 2017 move by Pope Francis to expand sainthood, an offer of life or the offer of one’s life. Vander Woude falls most especially under this third path, prompting the diocese to begin preliminary discernment of his cause.
For Chris, seeing these steps taken by the diocese is both deeply humbling and exciting, and he hopes that more people are inspired by his father’s example and legacy as a result.
“To me, this investigation into opening his cause for canonization means that there is hope in living a life of virtue even if it is hidden or simple,” Chris said. “Dad’s story is so powerful, inspirational and full of hope. I hope that many people who learn about his life and his death will be inspired to live holy and virtuous lives in their vocation. Dad was such a wonderful man to anyone that got to meet him. Through learning about his life, I hope people are inspired to be the best versions of themselves, which in many ways is what my dad sought for everyone he interacted with.”
Seventeen years after Vander Woude’s sacrificial death, his son Josie is alive and well, caring for Vander Woude’s now 81-year-old wife on the family farm. His name and portrait hang above the doors leading into the basketball court at Christendom College, inspiring students daily to emulate his heroic virtue.
The investigation into his cause for canonization is well underway, with Chris traveling across the country to share his father’s story at parishes in Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, Texas, New York City and at the San Francisco Walk for Life.
For Chris, he hopes that his father’s life and legacy will inspire and lead others to live similar lives of heroic virtue, changing the culture for the better.
“Not only did dad positively impact the communities he was a member of, but those communities positively impacted dad and our family,” Chris said. “Dad’s possible cause being opened is a credit to the communities that he and our family have been blessed to be a part of. Undoubtedly, dad’s example of how to live a virtuous yet simple life lives on in our family and communities through his memory and the lives of those whom he has touched in life and in death.”
As the diocese begins to investigate his life, those who knew Tom Vander Woude don’t need convincing of his saintlike virtue. They saw holiness up close daily — in the calloused hands of a father, the humility of a coach, and the love of a man who gave everything for his son, simply by striving, every day, to “do the right thing.”
